In various modes of operation, ink must be purged from printheads to ensure proper operation of the printhead. When a solid ink printer is initially turned on, the solid ink must be melted or remelted and the printhead must be purged to clear the printhead of any solidified ink in the printhead. The word “printer” as used herein encompasses any apparatus, such as digital copier, bookmaking machine, facsimile machine, multi-function machine, etc. that performs a print outputting function for any purpose.
When ink is purged through the printhead, the ink flows down and off the face of the printhead typically to a waste tray positioned below the printhead. Absent any additional structure, the ink can flow freely along the bottom edge of the printhead and drip from the printhead anywhere along that bottom edge. To help control this dripping flow of waste ink, a drip bib may be added near the bottom edge of the printhead.
FIG. 1 is front elevation view of printhead 20 utilizing a conventional straight-edged drip bib 22. The drip bib 22 uses the surface tension of the ink 24 to help the ink to flow off the bottom edge 26 of the drip bib 22. This conventional drip bib 22, however, results in splattering of unwanted drops of ink throughout the interior of the printer. As shown in FIG. 1, as the flow of ink 24 diminishes, the ink drips from the bottom edge 26. The surface tension of the ink 24 can causes a phenomenon called satellite drops in which a small portion of a stream of ink separates from a drop. This small portion can rebound off-center from the drop or the amount of ink still on the drip bib causing the satellite drop to possibly contact neighboring components.